


The Prophet

by AnneMcSommers



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Cults, Gen, Religion, Religious Cults, Religious Fanaticism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-18 18:48:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29122923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnneMcSommers/pseuds/AnneMcSommers
Summary: The story of how Klaus accidentally formed a cult to avoid being homeless again.
Relationships: Ben Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves
Kudos: 19





	The Prophet

Despite what people may think of him, Klaus did not in any way, shape, or form mean to form a cult.

In reality what Klaus had wanted was somewhere he could think for five minutes, even score a little something to pawn for “walking around” money while he figured out what exactly had happened, and whether or not he was dead.

After all, the last time it was a monochrome meeting with the little girl on the bike, this could be it. Ben was still here after all even though the rest of his siblings were not. By the time he had been taken back to the lavish mansion, fed, watered, and seen to by a Doctor it had been increasingly clear that this was in fact happening. 

If only for the fact that none of the other people here seemed to be able to see or hear Ben bitching about leaving the alley. “What if the others show up Klaus?” Like Ben couldn’t go and keep a look out on his own. 

While Ben was always on him to “get clean” and “buy food, not drugs”, Ben was dead. It seemed like after being dead for a while he had forgotten how often people were supposed to eat, or drink or sleep, and it had been a long time and a lot of powers used since that ill-fated breakfast, and well Klaus couldn’t remember the last time he had slept. Did being dead count?

So he took the bed he was offered over Bens objections, and slept for almost two days. When he finally did get up, he felt better than he had in, well he couldn’t really remember when he had felt this good. He was over the hump in terms of detoxing, no more shakes, and when he was finished inhaling a rather stupendous set of waffles he realized how much his powers had been dampened by the drugs. That is to say, Ben passed him the syrup when he asked. They both froze as their hands touched, and were stopped from acknowledging the moment by the sound a breaking glass.

The lovely widow was staring at the syrup. “Oh my good lord, you, how are you doing that?” Klaus admitted to himself in retrospect that he was lucky that she wasn’t a die hard Christian in that moment. He also realized that while Ben was apparently solid, he was still invisible. Klaus said nothing, and she turned and ran from the room. 

He got up and made a dash for the room he had been in last night. He needed to book it fast, and he needed to do it in his clothes, and not the robe he was currently wearing.

He was halfway through the window when he heard Evelyn cry out “Wait, please, I am a member of the movement,” 

Klaus froze, mostly out of confusion, but this was what he would consider that pivotal moment, the one in which a decision is made that changes everything. In this case, it founded a cult. Klaus made the decision, and despite Ben’s protest climbed in the window instead of out of it.

“The movement?” He asked, and Evelyn was there touching him, which was creepy, but she was talking. 

Apparently the movement was “the human potential movement” and focused on the innate abilities of humans to focus energies, and ultimately be able to perform superhuman feats. 

The more she talked about it the more familiar it began to sound, this was straight up new age, well maybe newer than new age at this time. Evelyn had attended a few speeches on it in her travels, and apparently had helped found (or more likely fund) a branch here. 

Evelyn begged him to stay, at least until their next meeting, and while Klaus did want to get back to the alley, he didn’t fancy sleeping in it. Which was what he was going to end up doing if he left now. 

So he agreed, but added in that we weren’t really dressed appropriately for any meeting, and apparently that was all the excuse Evelyn needed to take hu out on a shopping spree. 

Selection was…limited, but he did what he could. He stuck to what would be considered to be “Traditionally Male clothing” but taking into account what he remembers about mystics and the like, and playing it up a bit. All in all, he looked good. 

Ben wasn’t around much, hanging out in the alley, but on the day of the meeting of the “Dallas branch of the human potential movement” he was there. Klaus pushed out his power and made him solid. Ben did the rest, picking things up, touching them, feeling them. 

The five old biddies in the room ate it up. They promised to bring friends, husbands, and when they found that he had nothing but the clothes Evelyn had bought him, they gave donations in thanks of his sharing his gifts. 

It snowballed from there. When he complained about the group name, and ridiculously suggested Destinies Children, they went with it. They started asking for advice, and he replied in vague new-agey song lyrics. They wanted to go on a spiritual journey, and Klaus chose the longest convoluted journey he could through china, and India, to visit sacred sites, etc., and well the last thing he exacted was for them to get together and fund it.

The thing that seemed to surprise both him and Ben was the lack of drugs. Not that others were not partaking, but Klaus, Klaus was doing okay. It was like the ghosts weren’t as strong here, as they were in their time. Maybe it was the disconnect of time. Maybe it was the lack of drugs and regular exercise of his powers, but Klaus felt freer than he ever had before, lighter even, which led to his loose lips. 

Not that it was all international, Klaus just wasn’t the best with history. So when he talked about things that hadn’t happened yet, he played it off as a dream or a vision. The apocalypse was a little harder to sweep under the rug. He called it dark vision which may not yet come to pass. Ya, he used lord of the rings, he had gone to see it with Ben a few years back, and some things stuck.

Klaus hadn’t noticed the increasing devotion of his followers. That the more things he talked about actually happened, the more fanatical they were becoming. The more of them there were as well.

He was on a converted microbus when he heard someone say it the first time. “Will the prophet be speaking today?” 

He looked at Ben, who didn’t look nearly as surprised as he was.

When they stopped at the campground, Klaus looked around, and saw this ragtag group of “seekers” for what it was. It was a cult, his cult, he was the “enigmatic cult leader”. 

“I tried to tell you.” Ben said later that night, and Klaus realized that he was telling the truth. The increased bickering, the fights day after day, Klaus had thought Ben was overreacting, but now, here he was. 

It got worse from there, until the day he stood, hundreds of people gathered round, pressing in on him, touching him. He began to panic, mind flashing back to the mausoleum, to the ghosts pressing in. This time it wasn’t his powers it was his own fault for doing this, he was just as trapped now as he was then. Alone in a sea of screaming voices and grabbing hands. “Klaus, Klaus, KLAUS!” He had to get away.


End file.
